The stoppage came in the co-headliner of the event, which was a non-title affair that aired on MTV2 from Caesars Atlantic City in New Jersey.

The latest victory surely will further debate about Lombard (29-2-1 MMA, 7-0 BFC) and his ranking among the world’s other top 185-pounders. The 2000 Cuban Olympic judoka and PRIDE veteran has posted one of the sport’s most impressive undefeated streaks. In fact, his only two career losses came in 2006 against notables Akihiro Gono and Gegard Mousasi.

But while Vitale is a proven vet with big-stage experience, he’s not the type of top-10 opposition that Lombard’s resume currently lacks. But that’s not to say he’s facing scrubs. His recent wins have come over the likes of Joe Doerksen, Alexander Shlemenko, Jay Silva, Kalib Starnes, Jared Hess, Alexander Shlemenko and James Te Huna, who all are familiar names.

However, without facing the likes of Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen, Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami and the other top-level middleweights (almost all of whom fight in the UFC), it’s hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison, which has hurt Lombard in the rankings.

And, of course, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. As a Bellator titleholder, he’s contractually tied to the organization for some time. Additionally, with a lack of middleweight tournaments in recent seasons, no qualified title challenger is on deck until at least the spring of 2012. So in the meantime, it’s likely more non-title fights against the best non-UFC middleweights that the sport has to offer.